design for security - witting Mac user , MacScan 2.1 does two things : It scans your hard drive for spyware and other malware that has surreptitiously slipped onto your system . It also cleans up the trace bequeath behind by Web browsing — your internet browser history , hoard , and cooky . But the question is : Do we really need a separate app to do either ?
Scanning your Mac
The stated elemental part of MacScan is to , well , scan your Mac for known spyware — a specific type of malware designed to steal your personal information . But the fact is that there are n’t many actual lesson of Mac atomic number 8 spyware to concern about . I ’d be more impressed if MacScan were a broader purpose scanner , look for all have it away Mac computer virus and Trojan horses , as well as spyware .
Like many specialists , MacScan is good at what it does . But , even within its modified telescope , it ’s not stark . The scan itself takes quite a while , even on already - scanned files , and there ’s no meter reading of how long your scan will take . ( rather of a progress measure , MacScan shows a “ Samuel Barber pole ” that just keeps going . ) I ’d also love to see MacScan cursorily skip files that have n’t been modify since its last CAT scan , the style antivirus apps like Intego ’s VirusBarrier ( , July 2006 ) and Sophos Antivirus do . But it does n’t .
Erasing the trail
In addition to looking for spyware , MacScan can also clean up after you browse the Web . Many entanglement internet site keep track of your visits by leaving cookie on your computer . Most Web browsers keep a account list showing the sites you ’ve jaw ( to make it easier to get back to them ) and a stash stop the actual content of the Web pages you visited ( to speed up Thomas Nelson Page - loading ) .
MacScan can pass over uninfected these trails of breadcrumbs your browsing leaves behind — all cookies , visited pages history , cache files , and the inclination of file you ’ve downloaded for Safari , Firefox , Internet Explorer , and Netscape .
That thoroughness could come in peculiarly handy if you apportion a Mac , or if you desire to be able-bodied to take advantage of such web browser features for a small while , and then delete the data . MacScan performs this military service well , clean up the trail as request , while leave integral any info you ’d like left in place .
But you could already configure most Web browser app not to keep up any of this information . And , if you do n’t preclude its collection altogether , most permit you clear up this information yourself or to stop collecting it temporarily ( Safari ’s Private Browsing alternative , for example ) . For that reason , no matter how well MacScan does the task , the head remains whether that job really requires a dedicated app .
Macworld’s buying advice
While Windows users might involve a dedicated spyware - backstop , I ’m not convinced there ’s a existent motive for such specific Mac computer software . And you may take care of much of its web web browser sporty - up job yourself . For those two reasons , despite the fact that it takes care of its business jolly well , I ca n’t recommend MacScan .
[ Mark H. Anbinder is a senior expert advisor at Cornell University and a contributing editor program ofTidBits ) . ]
